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When Mumbai fell…. again…

Posted by Saipradeep on November 28, 2008

Mumbai has fallen again. It has fallen at the feet of an enemy whom we all know but can never see. Yes, we cannot see because we are blind. We have chosen to be blind rather than face the obvious. We have closed our eyes and turned our backs against reality.

Human mind chooses to believe what is best for it. We believed that we were safe even when the world around us was burning. When planes were crashing into towers. When men and women were blowing themselves just to take a few more with them. We believed that we were safe in our homes, in our neighborhood, in our country and closed our eyes to what was obvious. What is obvious is that the world is no longer the same. Our country is no longer the same. It is not what it was in the yesteryears. Gone are days when we could just forget where we were and walk for hours without worrying about losing cell phone network coverage. Gone is the innocence, which was bliss to behold. Today, we are scared to even send our children to the neighborhood shop. We are scared to walk alone in the night not at the fear of darkness, but because of what is hidden behind that darkness.

It was one such thing behind that darkness that blew Bombay apart 15 years ago. The thing that ripped through the sub-urban trains of Mumbai two years ago. The thing that let many cities and towns in India bleed just about a few months ago. It is that same thing that on 26th November 2008, 15 years after Bombay was blown apart, made Mumbai come to a screeching halt. Gunshots and grenades tore through the city. Terrorism!!! Alas! Mumbai has fallen again. Fallen it has, by the act of cowards who chose to exhibit their courage against innocent lives. Cowards who came in from the darkness of life. Cowards who do not value the value of life. Lives were lost; lives of rich and poor, mighty and meek, all alike fell to bullets and bombs of these cruel sons of Mother Nature. I call them sons of Mother Nature because no one else would be proud to call themselves as mother of these creations. They have painted the city of Mumbai in blood. Iconic images of a legendary city have been stained with these filthy memories. These landmarks will be imprinted in the memories of all, not with the luster they used to hold but with smoke that poured out them. It will last in the memories with the bloodshed it had to face on this dark day.

One can only stand and feel in despair at what this world has become. I am not here to play the usual blame game. Oh No! I am not blaming the Government for its inept measures to sustain war against terrorism. I am not blaming the Intelligence for its umpteenth failure to smell out such foul play. I am not blaming the media for making this an all day entertainment by just telecasting the same images and news repetitively through different angles and different reporters. I am definitely not blaming the politicians who are taking positions and plans that would fetch them the vote banks for the forthcoming elections. There is no one to blame for this mayhem. No one. Just us, who continue to just watch all of this via our favorite channels and at the same time not forgetting to tune into our favorite soap operas. Crying for the dead at the same time heartbroken for the last two one dayers that have been abandoned. Praying for the success of the encounters at the same time hoping that intricate details of the mission would be leaked on the news channel for us to watch. Feeling disgusted by the acts of these terrorists but at the same time taking sides in communal riots of same magnitude. There is no one to blame. Just us, who have to take the responsibility of what has happened to this beautiful world.

News channels and Newspapers seem to come up with apt quotes and continue to call the victims of such acts as resilient. We are not resilient to terror any more. We are just insensitive. We are inefficient and insensitive. We still wave out hands at the camera when reporters are spilling out the events. We laugh and chat over the phone in front of the camera when hundreds are crying for help just behind us. We are just insensitive and not resilient. If we still want to hold onto the word resilient, then we are just resilient, not because of choice but by force. We have to move on not because life goes on but because our daily bread depends on whether we move on. There is someone at our backs more than willing to take our place if we decide to stand still for just even a moment. Life just moves on. Just about another week and we all would have gone ahead with our lives and many other events would have filled our refreshable and erasable memories, pushing these dark events either to the back of our minds or completely out of our systems.

26th November would be remembered as just another black day in the history of India when terrorism choked us all. Let us not kid ourselves… there will be many other such days, many other innocent lives that would become prey to this hungry demon, many other cities that would fall just like Mumbai but until then let us hope and pray…. just until then…

2 Responses to “When Mumbai fell…. again…”

May you find serenity and tranquility in a world
You may not always understand.

May the pain you have known and conflict you have experienced
Give you the strength to walk through life
Facing each new situation with courage and optimism.

Always know that there are those whose love and understanding
Will always be there, even when you feel most alone.

May you discover enough goodness in others
To believe in a world of peace.

May a kind word, a reassuring touch, a warm smile be yours
Every day of your life,
And may you give these gifts as well as receive them.

Remember the sunshine when the storm seems unending.

Teach love to those who know hate,
And let that love embrace you as you go into the world.

May the teaching of those you admire become part of you,
So that you may call upon them.
Remember, those whose lives you have touched
And who have touched yours are always a part of you,
Even if the encounters were less than you would have wished.
It is the content of the encounter that is more important than it’s form.

May you not become too concerned with material matters,
But instead place immeasurable value on the goodness in your heart.

Find time in each day to see the beauty and love in the world around you.

Realize that each person has limitless abilities,
But each of us is different in our own way.
What you may feel you lack in one regard
May be more than compensated for in another.
What you feel you lack in the present
May become one of your strengths in the future.

May you see your future as one filled with promise and possibility.
Learn to view everything as a worthwhile experience.

May you find enough inner strength to determine your own worth by yourself,
And not be dependent on another’s judgement of your accomplishments.